Disclaimer: 'Two Worlds ~Interlude~' is a fan fiction based on characters from the anime 'Digimon'. Obviously I do not own them or I'll be bragging to you right now. However, I do own my own created character, Aiko Mihara.

Summary: The Teenage Wolves have reached their next stage in their career – acting. Time has passed since they parted ways but life has to go on. As the rockstars head around the globe, the rest continue to pursue their dreams in little Odaiba…

Note: The timeline of this Interlude fanfiction is placed between the Original story: Two Worlds and the Sequel: Two Worlds ~II~ Union.

Digimon
Two Worlds
~Interlude~

'Sora, can you get the tarts from the oven please! My hands are a bit tied up back here!'

'Alright!' Hurriedly placing the cups on the counter, the auburn haired teenager wiped her hands dry on her apron and headed for the oven. A gust of warm air blew at her face as she opened the lid and she fanned the air from her face, reaching for an oven mitt that hung at the side. With much care, she pulled the tray from within the hot cavern and placed it on the counter.

'It's done!' She called back and headed to where she had left the cups.

Picking them up, she placed them gently on a tray and moved away from the counter. Approaching her designated table, she flashed her customers a smile before placing their coffee on the table. Breaking off from their conversation for a moment, the ladies murmured a quick word of thanks before they took a sip and resumed their chattering.

Meanwhile, Sora headed back to her workstation and sighed. Pulling out a cloth, she rinsed it under the tap and wrung it dry. As she wiped the counter diligently, her hands stilled suddenly and she beamed. Pulling out a note pad from the back of her jeans pocket, she started to sketch on it, occasionally nibbling on her pen cap. The auburn haired girl was so absorbed in her sketch that she did not notice her colleague approach. A satisfied smile lit up on her face as she examined her rough drawing of the design that had suddenly popped into her mind.

'Not bad,' a voice murmured behind her and she jumped in surprise.

'Akane-san!' Sora's strangled voice wheezed out as she placed a hand over her chest. A blush appeared on her face as she realised that she had been caught slacking off in her work. 'I'm so sorry, but I was really excited about this design. I've been thinking of it for days and-'

Before she could explain further, Akane raised her hand and shook her head. Fearing that her boss was angry, Sora lowered her head and peered up at her, her fingers playing with her apron. A laugh escaped Akane's lips as she panted her hands on her waist, an amused smile forming on her face. 'Your mind's always in your sketches, isn't it? But it's alright; we don't have many customers in here during this hour. Besides, it's your last day here; I'll go lenient on you. It's not as if you haven't been of much help around here.' She ended off with a wistful tone.

Sora stared at her for a while. Having recently graduated from Odaiba High, Sora had been pouring much effort into designing while handling a part-time job before college began. It took a lot of courage and self-debates from her, but the teen had finally decided to take the first step and had approached a design company looking for an internship. Perhaps it had been her lucky day or the designer she met really loved her creativity and ideas. It was a nerve-wrecking three hours meeting but in the end, it was all worth it – she received the internship.

'Akane-san,' Sora gave her boss a radiant smile and a respectful bow. 'Thank you for putting up with my willfulness all these while and I learnt much from you. It was a pleasure working here even though it was only for a short while.'

Akane's features twisted into an awkward expression as she chuckled, humbly declining the compliments. 'I didn't do anything,' she had said. Still, Sora shrugged with a grin as she pocketed her note pad. Tomorrow was going to be a new experience.

Tomorrow…she was one step closer to her dream.

'Hika,' Takeru groaned as he watched the brunette jog further down the path, clutching her new camera excitedly as she snapped pictures of the scenery around her. She was taking photos of nearly everything – the people, Mother Nature and even the most unlikely things anyone would think of, such as the trail of ants that were crawling by the path. 'How long are we going to do this?'

She turned and flashed him a smile, giving him a shrug in response. It had been her birthday a few days ago and Takeru had bought the camera which she had been staring through one of the many shops' glass window at the mall. Needless to say, the brunette was ecstatic when she received her present. The upside was that he had received a kiss from her which promptly made him feel very proud of himself for having gotten a present she loved. (She loved it more than Taichi's present, which usually turns out to be her most favourite.)

The downside was that she spent most of her time with her camera now. Heaving a frustrated sigh, the blond removed his fisherman hat and rubbed his head, messing up his hair. With his shoulders slumped, he squatted down on the floor, ignoring all the queer looks that were directed at him. He stared at Hikari's back as she ran towards the beach and bent down, peering through the camera before clicking away furiously. Maybe getting her a camera was not a good idea after all…

Takeru was aware of how much he sulked that day. Hikari had called him early in the morning, saying that she wanted to take photos of the sunrise. The blond had pulled himself out from under warm covers and rushed out to meet her, lest they missed the highlight. Apparently, the brunette loved the camera more than he thought. She had stood up excitedly after watching the sunrise and asked him to stroll around the park with her so that she could take some photos. Unfortunately, her definition of 'some' seemed to be very different from his. Takeru had been amused by her reaction initially. A feeling of satisfaction filled him and he chuckled at her antics. However, a few hours down the road, the blond began to tire as Hikari continued on her task. The only time when she was distracted was when a child had accidentally tripped. The brunette had rushed over; a frown on her features as she helped the little girl up, smiling and speaking encouraging words to soothe the girl's pain. Subconsciously, Takeru wondered how many times she had spoken to him that day.

'Keru!' Hikari waved at him from a nearby bench and he sighed. Standing up, he wore his fisherman hat again and stuffed his hands into his pockets, dragging his feet as he approached her. She was still smiling happily and Takeru wondered where she got her energy from. Once he reached her side, the brunette thrust the camera in his hands suddenly and she pushed him towards the chair.

'I'm going to get us some drinks. Takeru, you sit here and wait for me okay?' Without waiting for his reply, Hikari turned and ran off. However, before she had gone too far, she turned around. 'Feel free to look at the photos I've taken!'

A scowl marred his features once she continued on her way and he lowered his eyes to the object in his hands. It seemed to mock him and he was awfully tempted to drop it. What am I doing? Takeru sighed and slouched in his seat. Raising the camera towards the sky, he used it to block out the sunlight from shining into his eyes as he scrolled through the pictures. Although he was rather sour about it, the blond had to admit that Hikari was very talented. Suddenly, a photo of him appeared and he gasped, springing from the bench. He stared at the photo for a while, recognising the person as himself. Slowly, the corners of his lips quirked and he could not help but laugh. Hikari…

A sudden urge overtook him as he pressed the button more quickly. Many photos of him surfaced and Takeru was undoubtedly surprised. There were so many candid shots of him…which meant, Hikari had been watching him all along. A tender expression appeared on his face.

Baka.

'Hurry up Koushiro!' Mimi beamed as she waved at the redhead who was struggling to catch up with her. Running into a nearby boutique, her chocolate brown eyes lit up as she spotted the newest line of clothing hanging by the rack.

'Mimi,' the redhead frowned. In his hands were bags of all sizes containing clothing, accessories and make-up. Thankfully, he was not holding all of them for Mimi had some of them with her as well. Still, as much as he loved the girl, she never ceases to surprise him with the amount of things she could buy. Where did all the money come from anyway?

'Sorry Koushiro,' Mimi approached him and gave an apologetic smile. 'But I really want to look through this. I promise this'll be the last shop alright? Then we'll go grab something to eat. I promise!'

He could not stop the smile as the corners of his lips raised and he nodded. Following slowly behind her as she flipped through every clothing that hung on the rack, he commented, 'You really love fashion.'

Nodding in reply, the brunette flipped her hair behind her shoulders as she pulled out an article, tapping her chin as she held it up in front of a full length mirror. 'I love it,' she grinned. 'Perhaps it's because of my mum's influence. She's always been very particular about how she looks and I've always watched her dress up. I want to be like that too.'

Koushiro stared at her as she handed the dress to a sales attendant before proceeding to look for more to try on. She was really beautiful. The girl has always been the eye candy of many boys in school and he was immensely grateful and honoured to have been able to know her. Despite her good looks, she was never arrogant about it and always tried to help others look good as well. Perhaps some would see it in a way that she was forcing her interests on others, but Koushiro knew too well that it was simply in her nature to share what makes her happy with the people around her. Meanwhile, for the past year, Koushiro has finally experienced his growth spurt. Although he'd never tell anyone, he was happy that he was finally towering over some people.

Suddenly, the redhead spotted a particular dress hung at the other side of the store. Walking over, he placed the bags he was carrying on the floor and winced slightly at the sore which his fingers were experiencing. Reaching out for the dress, he pulled it out from the rack and grinned.

'Mimi,' he called out and she turned to look at him. Coming to his side, she gasped at the sight of the dress as he handed it to her. 'I think it'll look good on you,' he said.

Shyly, she thanked him as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. 'I'll go try it on!' She exclaimed and rushed off towards the dressing room.

Watching her as she entered the dressing room, a realisation dawned upon him. She only had one dress in her hand when she entered. Turning to look at the side, he saw the pile of dresses which she had picked out earlier and a grin appeared on his face again.

'Man, girls really do take a long time getting ready don't they?' Taichi groaned as he leaned back on the sofa, slinging both his arms across the backrest. He never did have patience for waiting, especially when it's about girls dressing up. He did not see the point in it. Okay, he is absolutely excited if the girl is all dressed up but could they not begin dressing up early? Having to wait was such a pain. He's a growing, active boy! He needs to move, not sit there and wait! Tapping his foot, he whistled a tune as he waited for Aiko to come out of her room. As usual, just when he arrived to pick her up, she asked for five minutes more. Right,Taichi snickered, five minutes.

A few months ago, the brunet had plucked out his courage and bravely asked the girl out. He had spent most of his time with her after she was discharged from the hospital. It did not take long before feelings for her grew and the boy knew that he had fallen for her. Hard.

Despite her strange and hysterical behaviour when he first knew her, Aiko turned out to be a really sweet and caring girl. Perhaps the death of her mother really impacted on her severely, but Taichi was glad that his support, along with the rest of his friends, was able to become her strength and she stood strong again. Aiko was extremely bright and she proved to be a very interesting partner if one was looking for a conversation, thought it never failed to end with Taichi on the losing end.

Suddenly, the brunet remembered something and he yelled across the apartment. 'Aiko, have you finished the book Jyou lent you?'

There was a moment of silence as he waited for her answer. Just when he thought she had not heard, she called out from her room. 'I've finished it, but it's just as confusing as the previous one. I was going to return it to him but he's having his exams now right?'

A smirk appeared on his features as he pumped a fist into the air. 'Yes! Another twenty bucks!'

'I'm sorry that you had to wait,' Aiko apologised as she rushed to the living room, a small smile on her face as she made a turn. 'What do you think?'

'It looks great!' Taichi gave her a toothy grin as he stood. Standing next to her, he pulled her in for an embrace. 'You look great in anything anyway.'

Blushing at his compliment, she pushed him away in mock annoyance and headed for the door. 'Come on, we're late already.'

A mock laugh came from him as he followed behind her, 'and whose fault do you think it is?'

'Why couldn't you book a reservation at a later time?'

'Why couldn't you start getting ready earlier?'

'Who has dinner at five anyway?'

Scowling at the blonde, his frown deepened as she gave him a smirk. That reminded him so much of a certain blond…Seeing that his expression did not change, Aiko laughed and reached up, her fingers rubbing his temples.

'You're going to have wrinkles if you keep doing that,' she joked, 'I don't want to be seen with a boy who's looking thrice his age.'

She noticed the corners of his lips twitch a little but his expression still remained. Narrowing her eyes at him, she was determined to make him lose. With a sudden but fluid motion, she started messing up his gravity-defying hair, not that it was anywhere near tamed.

'Hey!' His eyes widened as he jumped away from her reach but she continued to chase after him. 'Not the hair!'

Rolling her eyes, she continued her assault, waiting for the reaction which she knew was due to come.

'Okay! Okay!' Taichi raised his hands in mock surrender, a helpless grin on his face as he shook his head. 'Alright, I heed.'

Laughing happily, Aiko wrapped her arms around his and pulled him out of the house. 'Let's go, you promised we're having steak tonight.'

Escorting her to his car like the gentleman he was, Taichi felt a wave of happiness wash over him. He was fortunate, he knew. It was ironic really, that he had started off on the worst possible terms with Yamato. However, it was through him that he got to know Aiko. He had fallen for her when he first met her, talk about falling in love on first sight. Though she completely ruined the entire mood when he realised she was not the sweet girl she looked like. Yet, as time passed, more about her was revealed and determined as he was, the brunet had to get to know her better. He was glad he did because the blonde meant more to him than words would ever describe.

End of Interlude

A/N: Hello folks!! I have not forgotten that I promised a sequel for my fanfic Two Worlds. I'm in the midst of planning the plotline and it's almost done! But it'll be quite a while before I update that fic because I'm having my GCE 'A' Level Examinations next month! I'll probably be updating it here after I'm done with the exams so do look out for it okay? Here's an Interlude and just like I mentioned above, it's situated in the timeline between the first fic and the sequel. Hope it gives you guys an idea of what's happening with the gang and I've actually dropped a bit of hints here to let you have a sense of some…details about the sequel. Really minor details. Haha! I know I didn't mention about Jyou here except at the part about Taichi and Aiko, but it's saved for the sequel so you guys will have to wait for his scenes. Please do continue to support me and I hope this Interlude was interesting for you guys! Have a great day and don't forget to review!

Everlasting Wonders